Fundraiser - $20/hr Guaranteed - Great for Students & Creatives

Fundraiser - $20/hr Guaranteed - Great for Students & Creatives

$20/hr guaranteed + bonuses | 21-35 hours/week | San Diego | Paid training

Want meaningful work where your personality, communication skills, and interest in social issues actually matter?

We're hiring fundraisers in San Diego to represent nonprofit organizations working on humanitarian, environmental, human rights, animal welfare, and social justice campaigns.

This role can be a great fit for students and recent graduates, as well as people working in music, theatre, film, visual arts, hospitality, advocacy, and other creative or public-facing fields.

You'll earn a guaranteed hourly wage while building real-world skills in communication, fundraising, advocacy, public speaking, and community outreach.

No fundraising experience is required. We're looking for outgoing, thoughtful people who enjoy talking with others, care about meaningful issues, and are willing to learn.

Pay & Benefits

• $20/hour guaranteed starting pay

• Your hourly wage is guaranteed - this is not commission-only work

• Performance-based bonuses and incentives

• Paid training from day one

• Approximately 21-35 hours per week

• Full-time and part-time opportunities available

• Health, dental, and vision benefits for eligible full-time employees and their families after 3 months

• Paid time off

• Employee Assistance Program

• Regular coaching, development, and opportunities for advancement

Public Outreach believes strongly in developing people from within. Many of our team leaders and managers started as fundraisers and learned the work from the ground up.

What You'll Actually Be Doing

You'll work face-to-face with members of the public, learn about the nonprofit campaign you're representing, explain why the issue matters, and invite people to support the organization by becoming monthly donors.

A typical day can include:

• Starting conversations with people you've never met

• Learning about the nonprofit campaign you're representing

• Explaining important social, humanitarian, or environmental issues in an engaging way

• Listening, answering questions, and building genuine rapport

• Asking people directly to support the organization through a recurring monthly donation

• Working alongside a supportive fundraising team

• Practicing your approach and applying regular coaching

• Working toward clear fundraising goals

Some people will be excited to speak with you.

Some will ignore you.

Some will say no.

Fundraising takes confidence, resilience, and the ability to reset and try again.

Your $20/hour starting wage is guaranteed, but this is still a goal-oriented fundraising role. You'll receive training and support while being coached toward clear fundraising expectations.

The Causes You'll Talk About

Depending on the campaign, you may have conversations about issues such as:

• Human and civil rights

• Immigrant and refugee rights

• LGBTQ+ and trans rights

• Reproductive rights

• Racial and social justice

• Humanitarian aid

• Emergency food, clean water, shelter, and medical assistance

• Communities affected by conflict, displacement, and humanitarian crises

• Environmental protection and conservation

• Animal welfare

• Poverty reduction and community development

Some of these can be personal, complex, or politically charged topics.

You don't need previous activism experience or a political science degree. You do need to be comfortable learning about these issues, discussing them respectfully, and accurately representing the nonprofit campaign you're working on.

Great Experience for Students & Creatives

This can be especially valuable for students and recent graduates interested in areas such as:

• Political science

• International relations

• Sociology

• Communications

• Public policy

• Human rights

• Nonprofit work

• Social justice

• Marketing

• Community organizing

It's also a strong fit for actors, musicians, comedians, dancers, writers, and other creatives who are comfortable performing, improvising, reading a room, telling stories, and connecting with strangers.

You'll build practical experience in:

• Nonprofit fundraising

• Public speaking

• Persuasive communication

• Storytelling

• Community outreach

• Handling objections

• Goal setting

• Coaching and feedback

• Leadership

These are skills you can take well beyond this job.

Schedule

We get it - you have a life outside of work.

Whether you're balancing school, creative projects, or other commitments, we offer multiple schedule options.

What we do need is consistency.

All team members must be able to commit to at least 3 complete 7-hour shifts per week - a minimum of 21 hours.

Current schedule options may include:

• Wednesday-Sunday - shifts generally scheduled around 9:00 AM-5:00 PM

• Monday-Friday - 11:00 AM-6:00 PM

• Saturday and Sunday - 10:00 AM-5:00 PM

Schedules and shift times can change depending on campaign and operational needs.

We require availability for full shifts. We generally cannot accommodate partial shifts.

This is Not a Desk Job

You'll spend much of your shift outside and in the community, walking, standing, approaching members of the public, and starting conversations throughout the day.

If you'd rather be moving around, working with a team, and meeting people than sitting behind a computer all day, you may really enjoy it here.

If you're looking for a job where simply showing up is enough, this probably won't be the right fit.

If you like improving at something, getting feedback, working toward measurable goals, and seeing yourself get better over time, you may be a great fit.

Who Tends to Thrive Here

You may be a strong fit if you:

• Enjoy talking with new people

• Communicate with warmth, confidence, and personality

• Care about nonprofit, humanitarian, environmental, animal welfare, human rights, or social justice issues

• Can explain ideas in a way people understand

• Like active work more than sitting behind a desk

• Can handle hearing "no" without losing your motivation

• Are comfortable receiving coaching and trying a different approach

• Like having measurable goals to work toward

• Are dependable and can commit to full shifts

• Want to build your communication, confidence, and leadership skills

Experience in hospitality, restaurants, cafes, retail, customer service, fundraising, theatre, improv, music, public speaking, advocacy, volunteering, organizing, or sales can translate especially well to this work.

But experience isn't required.

We're much more interested in your communication skills, curiosity, resilience, reliability, and willingness to learn.

Come As You Are

We want this to be a workplace where people can actually be themselves.

Our teams include members of the LGBTQ+ community, and creating an environment where people feel safe, respected, supported, and welcome is genuinely important to us.

We also know that people from underrepresented communities often have to think carefully about whether a workplace will respect who they are.

Queer and trans applicants are welcome here. Applicants from underrepresented communities are encouraged to apply.

We want people of different identities, backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives on our teams, and discrimination, harassment, homophobia, transphobia, racism, or other forms of disrespect have no place in our workplace.

You don't need to fit a certain mold to work here.

If you care about the work, enjoy connecting with people, and are willing to learn, we'd love to hear from you.

Before You Apply

• You must be 18+

• You must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without employer sponsorship

• You need to be able to consistently work at least 3 complete 7-hour shifts per week / 21 hours

• You must be available for full shifts rather than partial-day availability

• You should be comfortable being outdoors, standing, and walking for much of your shift

• You should be comfortable starting conversations with members of the public throughout the day

• You need to be able to communicate confidently in English

• You should be comfortable receiving coaching and working toward fundraising goals

No fundraising experience? No problem. We'll provide paid training, ongoing coaching, and support from your team.

Hiring Process

We're actively interviewing and looking for candidates who can start soon.

Qualified applicants will be invited to a virtual group interview where you'll learn more about Public Outreach, the role, and what face-to-face fundraising is actually like.

Candidates selected to continue may move on to additional hiring steps and paid field training.

We want you to know what you're signing up for before you commit.

About Public Outreach

Public Outreach is a fundraising company that partners with nonprofit organizations to build support for causes that matter. Our fundraisers work directly with the public to help nonprofit organizations build sustainable support for their work.

Public Outreach is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive workplace.

Accommodations are available upon request throughout the hiring process.